Sugar Coated

by Shannen Crane Camp

  “No,” he said honestly. “But that’s what makes it worth doing. Besides, you’ll get hit a lot less than you do this close to the shore. The waves don’t break as much out there.”

  Brynn thought this explanation over for a moment. Jonah did seem to be telling the truth. Even as she looked out toward the horizon she could see that the waves were breaking right where they stood. If she went out a bit farther she would be past the breaking point and might actually feel safer.

  “Can you swim well?” he asked-, seeing the hesitation on her face.

  “Of course I can,” she said almost defensively.

  She suddenly decided that she didn’t want Jonah to think of her as a normal girl. She wanted to prove to him that she could go as far into the ocean as he could without being scared.

  Winking at Jonah, she took a deep breath and dove under the surface, opening her eyes in the murky, green water. She could see the waves rolling above her but amazingly enough, when she was under the surface the actual waves didn’t affect her at all. She saw the white water of the breaking waves and the tunnel they created as they rolled into the shore, but she was merely an observer. From her vantage point under the water she seemed to be completely cocooned from the pull of the tide.

  Feeling much safer under the dangerous waves than she had at the surface, she kicked off from the sandy ocean floor and propelled herself toward the dark unknown. She swam hard, glad that her parents had taught her how to swim so well. Her strong arms pulled her quickly away from the shore and she didn’t bother looking back until her lungs couldn’t take it anymore. Breaking the surface, she smiled triumphantly.

  “Who’s scared now?” she asked Jonah, turning around toward the shore to see his reaction to her show of bravery.

  To her surprise, however, she had swum so far away from the shore that Jonah was now just a dot in the distance. It took all of two seconds for Brynn’s panic to set in. She could feel the color drain from her face as she realized that even if Jonah started swimming now, it would take him some time to get to her. She had to have started swimming out just as the tide was pulling back to have made it that far in such a short period of time.

  Forgetting how brave she was trying to be, Brynn began to flounder in the water, remembering all of the animals she had learned about on her interactive education screen back at home. Most of the sea creatures she’d learned about seemed too horrible to be true. But what if the grey rubbery fish with large sharp teeth really existed? It wouldn’t be often that they had the opportunity to feast on a human. No one else was crazy enough to come out into the ocean.

  “Jonah!” she screamed, letting her fear get the better of her.

  Jonah’s face disappeared from her view as he ducked down under the water to come and get her. Brynn tried to start paddling back toward the shore but the tide seemed to keep pulling her back to the vast expanse of the ocean behind her. She tried to feel the sandy ocean floor with her feet, but only made contact with more freezing water below her. She was suddenly very aware of just how little she could see underneath her. Halfway down her legs, her feet seemed to disappear into dark green nothingness.

  “Jonah!” she called again, more out of fear than anything, since she could clearly see that he hadn’t surfaced again since his descent into the ocean. “Help!” she cried, just as her new friend’s familiar face came into view only a few feet ahead of her.

  Jonah held out his hand, stretching his arm until their wet, slippery fingers interlocked. He pulled her over to him and wrapped an arm around her to keep her from being dragged away once more.

  “Hold onto my neck and hold your breath. I’m a really strong swimmer,” he instructed her.

  Brynn nodded in understanding and slung her arms over his broad shoulders, using her knees to cling to his back. She took her cue from him and took a deep breath when he did before the two of them plunged back into the icy water.

  Holding onto him, Brynn could feel that Jonah had been right; he was a strong swimmer. She could feel the muscles in his back flex with every broad stroke of his arms; feel the icy water rushing past them as he swam swiftly against the tide. She kept her eyes closed, afraid of what she might see in the murky green abyss that surrounded her, and simply concentrated on holding her breath.

  Just as she was certain she would have to let go of Jonah to get some air, they broke the surface. Brynn continued to hold onto him even as he stood in the shallow water and walked back up onto the dry beach. She kept her face pressed firmly against his neck, sheltering it from the icy wind that whipped up sand all around them.

  When Jonah stopped walking, Brynn willed herself to let go of him. Her bare feet hit the sand and she looked up at the second boy to save her from the waves that day.

  “When I said we should go farther out, I didn’t mean you should try to swim to the other side of Halcyon,” Jonah said, breathing deeply from the exertion of saving Brynn.

  “I don’t know how I got out there so fast,” she said, sitting on the dry sand that now coated their wet clothing.

  “Well, you don’t have to worry about me thinking you’re brave,” he assured her. “You’re crazier than me, even.”

  He sat down next to her on the cold sand and wiped his hand over his face, trying to remove the drops of water that rested on his sharp cheekbones.

  “Does that mean I never have to do a brave thing again?” Brynn asked hopefully, pulling her dry grey jacket on over her wet clothes.

  “Yeah, you’ve definitely made your point,” he assured her.

  He tilted his head back and closed his eyes in the last rays of sunshine, soaking something up. She couldn’t tell if it was the warmth of the sun or the exhilaration of the moment that he was enjoying more, but either way it made Brynn feel grateful for the terrifying adventure she had just had.

  “Thank you for coming to get me,” Brynn said after a moment of silence had stretched on between the two of them.

  “I thought about leaving you out there, but I needed someone to come to the library every day and boss me around. Who else would do that? The Angel?” he joked, opening his eyes and smiling warmly at Brynn.

  “I’m sure she’d love to boss you around, actually,” Brynn answered.

  “Oh, she has,” Jonah said emphatically, making Brynn laugh. “On many different occasions, actually.”

  “Why does that not surprise me at all?” she asked with a shake of her head, pulling her coat tighter around her small frame to try to protect herself from the wind.

  Jonah glanced over at her, taking note of this gesture. “Cold?” he asked, though they both already knew the answer to that question. “Do you like hot chocolate?”

  * * *

  One of the biggest benefits of the various stores, restaurants, and rec buildings around the city was that two people who didn’t know each other very well could go out and get to know each other in a public place. Though it was true that anything you could ever want was readily available at your own home, it wasn’t customary to invite a complete stranger back to your house after having just met.

  It was for this reason that Jonah and Brynn sat in the dimly lit café, drinking hot chocolate and learning about each other as the moon streamed in through the glass walls and ceilings. The blue glow of the moon was countered only by the soft orange light emanating from the lamps on each table.

  Amber had messaged Brynn several times since the group separated, but Brynn would simply reply with a quick, Still feeling sick. She felt slightly guilty over this lie, but it was true that her two dips in the ocean that day had left her feeling chilled and worn out. Though she was sure she wasn’t getting sick, sitting there with Jonah in her stiff, dry clothes felt like the best medicine she could find.

  “Okay, how about this one,” Brynn began, excited to finally have someone to ask all of her questions—someone who wouldn’t dismiss them as nothing. “Why don’t the trains have windows?”

  “That one’s always bugged me!” Jonah exclaimed
, causing a few people around them to look over at the couple curiously. He laughed quietly at his outburst and hunched over closer to Brynn as if this would help to lower his volume. “I feel like there has to be some way to make glass thick enough that it won’t break when the train reaches a high speed,” he said with a shake of his head.

  “Exactly. So are the train engineers just being lazy or do they not want us to see what we’re passing by?” Brynn asked, feeling slightly exhilarated at saying things out loud that she had only ever thought.

  Jonah was silent for a long moment, his eyes looking at her, but not really seeing her. It was as if he was focusing on something far away. Thinking. As usual.

  “What do you think we’re passing by?” he finally asked, genuine curiosity in his expression.

  “I’m not sure. I can’t think of what would be so secretive. But I’m going to find out pretty soon here,” Brynn said excitedly. “I’ve got a train ticket for—”

  “So,” said a familiar voice near Brynn, cutting her off mid-sentence. As she looked over and saw Amber, Bennett, and Ty staring at her, she instantly scooted her chair back a few inches, not realizing until that moment how close she and Jonah had been sitting. “You’re looking much better,” Amber said, pursing her lips and raising her eyebrows at her friend.

  “Oh,” was all Brynn could think of to say.

  Amber looked angry as she stood there in silence, while Bennett looked excited to see what was going to happen next. Ty just looked upset in general, though he wasn’t staring at Brynn like Amber and Bennett were. He was staring at Jonah.

  “I’m feeling a lot better now,” Brynn said finally, breaking the awkward silence that had descended on the group.

  Jonah looked over at Brynn questioningly, but luckily had the good sense not to blurt out that she had been fine the whole time that he had been with her. Instead, he cleared his throat and looked down at his empty hot chocolate cup in silence.

  “Who’s your friend?” Bennett suddenly asked, her voice flirtatious.

  Jonah clearing his throat was the only thing Bennett had needed to lock all of her attention onto him. Brynn was surprised it had taken her that long to notice a cute boy in the room.

  “This is my friend Jonah,” Brynn said by way of introduction, realizing that it probably didn’t quite add up that she knew this boy well enough to call him a friend when her other friends had never met him before.

  “Hi Jonah, I’m Bennett,” she said, pushing Amber aside to shake his hand.

  He smiled up at her and took her hand in his, not showing any sign of being uncomfortable in front of this group of people who were sizing him up.

  “I’m Amber,” Amber said, giving him a polite smile even though Brynn knew she was fuming at having been lied to.

  Amber was one of those people who would always be as polite as she could to strangers because she didn’t have it in her to be rude, but that didn’t mean she was happy about something. When she was with her real friends she’d let her true feelings fly. Bennett was constantly telling Amber she had to grow a backbone and just tell people what she really felt so she wouldn’t get walked all over. Brynn thought that maybe that was the reason she always seemed so abrupt with her—because she trusted her friend enough to know that she’d still love her even if she was brutally honest.

  Jonah smiled and nodded at Amber, giving her a brief “Hi,” before turning his attention to Ty, who stood at the back of the group looking sullenly at the floor. He knew it was his turn to introduce himself but he made no move to do so, simply glancing at Brynn with hurt lining his face.

  “This is Ty,” Brynn finally said, feeling that the silence was stretching on far too long.

  “Hi Ty,” Jonah said, flashing him a smile.

  Ty returned the greeting with a nod, not cracking a smile.

  “I’m guessing the medicine just kicked in?” Ty asked, looking over at Brynn with an unreadable expression on his face.

  “I’m still not sure that it has,” Jonah said from beside Brynn, just as she was opening her mouth to try to explain herself. “She was wandering around in the library today saying all sorts of crazy things. Talking about Angels and fake cities,” he said with a sad shake of his head. Brynn resisted the urge to kick him under the table. “I told her she was feverish and needed to go home, but she wouldn’t listen so I brought her to get some hot chocolate. Thought maybe it would lull her into submission,” he said with a grin at Brynn’s friends.

  “That does sound a lot like Brynn, actually,” Bennett said. “Completely stubborn and talking crazy.”

  “Thanks for that, Bennett,” Brynn said dryly.

  “I’m sorry you’re sick,” Amber finally said, sounding like she really meant it and making Brynn feel like a bad friend for lying to her.

  “Actually, I should probably get you home so you can get some rest,” Jonah said, standing up from the table and taking the initiative to get Brynn out of the uncomfortable situation.

  “I’ll take her,” Ty suddenly said from the back of the group.

  “I really don’t mind,” Jonah began.

  “No it’s fine. I live right next door,” Ty interjected, walking swiftly over to where Brynn sat and helping her up. Brynn looked back and forth between the two boys, not quite sure what to do.

  “Amber and I were just about to get some hot chocolate, actually,” Bennett said, instantly stepping in to resolve the conflict. “Maybe Jonah would like to get to know your best friends a little better,” she finished with a brilliant smile.

  Jonah looked over at Brynn as if asking her what she wanted him to do. She shrugged and shook her head, mouthing a quick “I’m sorry” to the boy who had already put up with so many odd things on her behalf.

  “That sounds great,” he said to Bennett. “I’ll see you later Brynn?” he asked, looking at her earnestly.

  “Definitely,” she replied, “Same time, same place.”

  Jonah shook his head at her, but couldn’t hide his smile as she turned to leave the café with Ty.

  The two friends walked through the darkened streets in silence for quite some time, not bothering to stop and wait for a bus to take them home. Brynn and Ty had always preferred to walk around the city rather than take the bus anyway.

  “I knew you weren’t sick, but I didn’t realize you had a date,” Ty said, nudging Brynn with his shoulder and trying to sound nonchalant even though it just came out stiff and artificial.

  “It wasn’t a date,” she replied with a laugh. “I went to the library to find something and he happened to be there, so he helped me out,” she explained.

  “And then he happened to be at the café?” he asked, still smiling even though Brynn could tell he was upset.

  “Ty,” Brynn said, stopping her walk through the streets of the city to look at her friend. “Don’t be mad at me. It wasn’t like I didn’t want to hang out with you guys today. I just wanted to go to the library to look for some stuff. It wasn’t anything personal.”

  Ty looked back at her, still wearing the same sad expression on his face before he shrugged his shoulders and attempted a smile.

  “It’s not a big deal,” he said, wrapping one arm around Brynn’s shoulders as they started walking toward her house again. “You still smell like the ocean,” he suddenly said, leaning over to smell her hair. “Even after you’ve changed your clothes from this morning I can still smell the salt on you. Normally you smell like sugar,” he joked.

  “The ocean must like me,” she said, not mentioning that she had been in the water a second time that day.

  No need to cause unnecessary panic about her mental well being.

  “Or maybe it feels the need to counteract all of those sugar cubes you always carry around with you,” he answered, giving her a squeeze.

  “Yeah, that might be it,” she said, smiling up at Ty.

  He smiled back at her, his almond shaped brown eyes warm and inviting.

  “It’s nice out tonight.” He wa
s looking up at the large full moon that hung in the sky.

  “Surprise, surprise,” Brynn said sarcastically.

  “I still can’t believe you complain about the ‘almost always’ perfect weather,” Ty laughed, shaking his head at her.

  “Actually, I hate to admit it, but I’m loving the weather tonight,” Brynn confessed. “I love the way the night feels on my skin.”

  “I love the way the night looks on your skin,” Ty said. “You look like you belong in the nighttime.”

  Brynn looked up at her friend questioningly as they walked through the city park, cutting across the grass as a shortcut to the city suburb they both called home.

  “The day time seems too straightforward to fit you,” he explained, looking down at her with the familiarity of a friend who knew her better than anyone. “Everything is taken at face value in the day. But at night, I think that’s when you shine. At night you have to look harder to see things for what they really are. It fits you perfectly. The girl who smells like sugar and blends in with the night.”

  Brynn rested her head on Ty’s shoulder as they left the park and came to their neighborhood. “I like that,” Brynn said finally. “At home in the night with the stars and the moon,” she chanted like these were the words to a poem.

  “With the shade of blue that matches her eyes,” Ty added thoughtfully.

  The two friends stood outside of their houses, looking up at the sky. They didn’t say a word to one another and had somehow come to the silent agreement that they didn’t need to go inside just yet. Instead their heads were tilted upward, catching glimpses of stars in the indigo sky and breathing in the damp, cool feeling that rolled in with the darkness.

  “I used to be partial to the daytime,” Ty suddenly said, “But you’re making a convincing argument for the night.”

  “I haven’t said anything,” Brynn reminded him, still looking up at the stars with wonder in her eyes.

  “You didn’t really need to,” Ty answered.